The Electoral College Does My Vote Count????

True or False? The presidential candidate with the most votes on Election Day is always the next president.

Presidential Voting 101 False o The President and Vice-President of the United States are not elected by our direct popular vote. o Instead, they are chosen by electors, a group of elected officials chosen from the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Collectively they are dubbed, the Electoral College.

Definitions p Direct Popular Vote - votes cast by U.S. citizens on election day p Electors - a body of people selected by each party within a state that is numerically equal to the state’s congressional delegation -- representatives plus senators

More Definitions p Electoral College- the constitutional system for the election of the President and Vice- President of the United States. It is the collective name for a group of electors nominated by political parties within the states and popularly elected who meet to vote for those two offices. Each state has as many presidential electors as it has representatives in both house of Congress.

Total Numbers in the Electoral College 100 Senators Representatives + 3 Votes for Washington D.C. (23 rd Amendment) = 538 Total Votes

Votes for Each State Adding the number of Senators to the number of Representatives yields the total number of votes. How many votes does Idaho have?

Already completed Before February 5 February 5 After February 5

Origin and History The electoral college system was devised as a compromise by the Framers of the Constitution. Article II provides for how many electors each state may have. Electoral votes are based on the number of senators and representatives of each state and this compromise benefited both large and small states. Originally, each elector would cast two votes. The candidate receiving a majority of the votes would be declared the President and the runner-up would be declared the Vice President. Problems???

The Electoral Process The emergence of political parties caused a problem with this process and so the Twelfth Amendment was adopted.

Amendment XII Ratified June 15, 1804: Established separate ballots for President and Vice-President

President and Vice President. The electors are selected by the people through popular vote. By 1832, all states had adopted the unit rule system. Under this system, all the state’s electoral votes go to the candidate receiving the largest number of popular votes. Currently, Nebraska and Maine do not use the unit rule system.

The Electoral College q The presidential electors together make up the electoral college q One month after the election the electors meet in the state capitol to cast their votes q The electors never meet as a national body

q Each state sends its results to Washington, D.C.

The Electoral Process q Voters do not directly elect the President q Instead, voters select a slate of electors pledged to a particular candidate qThe candidate with the most votes from each state gets the entire state’s electoral vote

How is a candidate elected President? q A candidate must receive the majority of the popular votes q The candidate must receive 270 of the 538 votes

What happens if no candidate receives the majority ? The top 3 candidates with the largest number of electoral votes will then go to:  House of Representatives  Senate

In the House of Representatives q Representatives vote as a delegation qEach state receives one vote q If the delegation cannot reach a majority, the vote is lost. Ex. Idaho split 1-1.

In the Senate q Each Senator gets one vote qThe candidate with the majority will become the Vice President

How are the electoral votes divided amongst the states?

Each state receives 1 electoral vote for each Senator and Representative with the smallest state having at least three

The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Electoral College

Advantages q The electoral college supports the federal system. The blocks of electoral votes give the states an important role in Presidential elections.

Disadvantages q The “winner-take-all” feature of the system distorts the will of the people. Top Five States 1. California 2. Texas 3. New York. 5. Illinois/Pennsylvania q The “one person, one vote” feature allows the larger states to dominate, therefore, candidates concentrate their efforts in those states with the most electoral votes.

More Disadvantages q The Constitution does not require electors to vote for the candidate to whom they are pledged. Therefore, an elector could choose to vote for another presidential candidate. This has only happened 6 times since q Another disadvantage is the chance of the election being thrown into the House of Representatives. Two Presidents have been elected this way: Thomas Jefferson in 1800 and John Quincy Adams in 1824.

Proposed Reforms The District Plan – Electors would be chosen the same way that members of Congress are chosen. 2 would be selected state-wide, at-large, and the other electors would be selected in individual districts.

Proposed Reforms Direct Popular Election – Eliminate the electoral college and let the people decide with a direct popular vote.

Proposed Reforms The Proportional Plan – Each presidential candidate receives the same share of the state’s electoral vote, as he or she receives in the State’s popular vote. Ex. 30% Smith, 60% Johnson, 10% Jones – 10 Electoral votes total = Smith 3, Johnson 6, Jones 1.

Quiz q Which amendment provides that separate electoral ballots be cast for President and Vice-President? a.23 b.21 c.12d.17

Quiz q Which amendment provides that separate electoral ballots be cast for President and Vice-President? c.12

True or False? Each state has one electoral vote for each senator and representative, thus each state is guaranteed 3 electoral votes.

 Presidential electors together constitute the.  List and briefly discuss the 4 disadvantages of the electoral college.  Name 5 of the top 10 states based on their number of electoral votes.

 How many electoral votes does Idaho have and what is the law that governs the process for choosing them? Questions for Further Investigation  Which states have more than 20 electoral votes?  How many U.S. Presidents have been elected without a majority of the popular vote?  What amendments to the U.S. Constitution have dealt with the workings of the Electoral College?

Do you favor an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishing the Electoral College? Debate